HSBC Shares Surge to Record on Profit Beat, Raised Targets

Shares of HSBC Holdings Plc soared to a record after Europe’s largest lender reported earnings that beat estimates and raised some targets, signaling a sweeping overhaul by Chief Executive Officer Georges Elhedery is paying off.

The London-headquartered bank, which derives the bulk of its earnings from Asia, on Wednesday booked a pretax profit of $29.9 billion for the year, beating its own compiled analyst estimate of $28.9 billion. The wealth business and its core Hong Kong franchise helped lift performance.